Committee InfoDescriptionHello representatives, and welcome to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, also known as the Intelligence Committee. The Intelligence Committee is responsible for overseeing the United States Intelligence Community, which includes organizations such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Department of Homeland Security. The Intelligence Committee is also involved with the Department of Justice, the Department of Energy, and the Treasury. Additionally, the committee is responsible for appropriating funding for all intelligence activities. The percolation through many of the upper strata of the United States government, as evidenced by a diverse range of involvement in the aforementioned organizations and departments, is what makes the Intelligence Committee unique. Currently, the committee is chaired by Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) and is comprised of 22 members: 13 Democrats and 9 Republicans. The committee is divided into four subcommittees as follows: Terrorism/Human Intelligence, Analysis, and Counterintelligence; Technical and Tactical Intelligence; Intelligence Community Management.The discussions of the Intelligence Committee often touch upon sensitive or classified information, thus the majority of the committee's work is not made available to the general public until the information is deemed irrelevant. Despite the fact that hearings held by the committee are not transparent, you should not be dissuaded from inferring topics of discussion. You may explore the major news stories that directly involve the committee. For example, the National Security Council (NSC) - which reports directly to the Intelligence Committee - is the organization responsible for the investigation of the Fort Hood shootings. As another example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - which is an agency of the Department of Justice and involves the Intelligence Committee - is involved in the investigation and the arrest of five Americans in Pakistan, who were apprehended by the Pakistani police in relation to suspicion of plans to commit acts of terrorism and to import Jihad to the United States. For every such public example of American dissidence, there are more that have not yet become news. The Intelligence Community and the Intelligence Committee attempt to prevent tragedies through the implementation of legislation. At the same time, the Intelligence Committee is also responsible for ensuring its related agencies do not exceed their prerogative. One of the recent public hearings of the Intelligence Community focused on the CIA withholding information from Congress, specifically with regard to quasi-legal activities such as brutal interrogation techniques, detainee treatment, and the like. If you are interested in learning more about the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, visit their website at http://intelligence.house.gov. -------------- Hello! My name is Michelle Perlin, and I am currently a junior at the University of Pennsylvania. I am enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences and study History of Art and French. I grew up in New York City and graduated from Riverdale Country School. This is my second year as a committee chair for Penn Model Congress. In addition to participating in PennMC, I am involved with various student groups on campus, including the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, University Choral Society, and Penn Review. Hopefully, you will find inspiration in this Jurisdiction Paper, as it is intended to assist you in your preparation for the conference. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the conference, please feel free to contact me by email (mperlin@sas.upenn.edu). I look forward to meeting you in February My name is Sami Nazif, and I am a Junior currently enrolled in the Wharton School of Business with a Finance concentration. I am also pursuing minors in Mathematics and Computer and Information Science. I am from Skillman, NJ, and outside of class I enjoy soccer, Go, and of course, Model Congress. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions you might have. My e-mail address is nazifs@wharton.upenn.edu. I look forward to working with all of you and will you see you in February. Chairs
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Account LoginConference DatesMarch 31 - April 3, 2011 RegistrationRegistration is now closed. InformationClick here for more details about PENNMC 2011! Check us out on Facebook!
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